The Date
by NCEITFOA
Summary: Mei Sakura is more than aware that she feels...something for Kotaro. But she's also smart enough to know he's ten and she's only a little bit older. Besides she's adjusted herself to the fact that she probably won't get as much time with him as she might have wanted in an ideal world. So when the chance to actually get to know him arises she's best described as confused. MeixKotaro


**The Date-**

* * *

"What'cha lookin' at, nee-chan?"

The sudden intrusion knocked Mei out of her reverie, leaving her with a baffled expression as she turned to face the speaker. When she saw who the speaker in question's was she tried to quickly summon a reply;

"Um?" She responded, inarticulately, with a blank expression. It was really disappointing.

At the least, however, her answer, or lack thereof, clearly amused the speaker though as he proceeded to snigger lightly. Almost immediately she could feel the onset of embarrassment, her cheeks began to heat up and her mind working overtime to catch up to her mouth.

_Dolt! _Was the sole thought which accompanied this process.

"Uh, I mean, nothing I was…uh, looking at nothing," she finally stammered out, somewhat shakily, and with an obviously forced smile.

"Lookin' at nothin', eh? That's an interesting way of spendin' yer time," his voice was still slightly teasing but, at the very least, he'd stopped sniggering. For now anyway. This provided her with the room to bring her breathing down and try speaking normally for a moment;

"It's nothing serious I was just…just, you know, stopping to think about some stuff," by the look of blank incomprehension on his face she assumed he didn't know.

_Of course you don't. You never stop to think at all do you? Not about anything._

Looking at the boy's face, doglike ears exposed in the safety of the festive environment, she became aware of a strange empty sensation in her stomach. It was a symptom she was used to experiencing in his presence. Of course, normally, she experienced the symptom prior; whilst building up the nerve to instigate a conversation with him, so the fact that this time it was occurring after he'd instigated a conversation with her was…novel.

Still his current expression made it obvious he was uninterested in her flustering attempts to explain what she'd been doing.

"Never mind, forget about it," she decided to conclude with, brushing off the issue, as the smile on her face grew to be slightly more genuine. There was really no need to get involved in a pointless conversation like that now.

_More importantly what did you want to talk to me about, eh, eh? _The question scratched at the back of her mind as she searched for ways to articulate it without sounding presumptuous. She had to admit the fact that Kotaro had walked straight up to her was...exciting. But she was wary of his real intent in doing so. Thus her attempt to find a polite way to ask him, an attempt which was further frustrated by the fact that he promptly spoke up again;

"Yah know ya can be real weird sometimes nee-chan,"

Her face faltered a bit at that. Not really something a girl, or anyone really, wanted to hear.

"But yer real funny. "

That was better at least.

"I…I hardly think I'm funny, K-Kotaro-kun," she injected an extra bit of authority into her voice, for whatever good it would do her, as she answered. Although she was certainly trying to come across as indignant at least part of her was genuinely happy for the spontaneous compliment. Well, to be fair, she wasn't really sure if being called 'funny' constituted a complement but, on the other hand, she'd take what she could get at this point. No one ever claimed Mei Sakura was lucky in love and, as such, she was more than happy for scraps.

"See? Like right now, yer doin it again, always actin' so polite an' everything. It's gotta be tough always rememberin' to say the right thing', mind you, I can respect that kinda effort, even if it's a giant waste if ya ask me," he smiled up at her as he gave another small chuckle, his attitude casual, as he prevented another lengthy silence from ensuing. Not for the first time Mei felt herself grow hot under the collar around him.

She couldn't help but recall more than one awkward moment when Takane-senpai had tried to interrogate her about her 'relationship' with Kotaro. She'd avoided the matter, naturally, since it wasn't the type of thing she was comfortable discussing with the older girl but, truthfully, she did have to admit to herself that she had a certain…fondness for the boy. But that wasn't really very surprising, she'd insisted, considering what they'd been through together. Certainly she would, if pressed, admit to crush on the boy. But that was all she'd admit too and, exactly that point, was what left her curiosity bubbling. She knew, personally, that he was a good boy and she'd fancied getting to know him better a few times. Unfortunately though the...company he kept had always deterred her somewhat.

She also knew that more than enough 'crush's' were currently floating around the Academy and, personally, she didn't want to have any part of the crazy chasing and resulting hijinks. But her curiosity still bubbled and she often found herself wondering what spending time with him privately might be like. All this brought her back to now;

So she couldn't help but laugh with, giving the boy a smile as she did so. His own stupid grin seemingly plastered to his face permanently.

Eventually though even laughter could become awkward and as the two wound down it was, once again, Kotaro who spoke first;

"So, as I was sayin', what ya doin' by yerself? Shouldn't yah be with friends enjoyin' the festival?"

Mei gave a small twitch at the abruptness of his inquiry as she tried to keep a small smile frozen on her face.

_Way too ruin the mood. Seriously you have no tact. _Her thoughts silently passed by, leaving room for a strangely endearing feeling at the openness the boy demonstrated.

"Well what about you? I don't see you with anybody?" She retorted, going on the offensive as Takane-Senpai tended too in conversations, as she did her best to imitate her senior's haughty tone.

"Well, actually, I was gonna play with Negi and them but Chizu-nee said I had to stay out of this one for them girl's sakes. 'Nother dumb game they're all playin' which I want no part of, and yah always, always do what Chizu-nee tells yah to do. Especially now." The boy gave a shudder, as if remembering something terrifying, before adopting his more languid posture again.

_Oh. So he's on his own today as well. _His earlier question was forgotten as curiosity now took root. The situation had suddenly become very, very interesting.

"I guess there's probably other games or such to try, I was thinkin of finding some till I got hungry. So then I started looking for a place to eat. I found one but then when I got there I realized I don't have any cash so-" Kotaro went on, rambling a bit, as he explained what he'd gotten up to for most of the day. Mei's mind, however, whirred to fast to notice him.

_He's on his own. On his own. I could…try to talk to him. I could try too…?_

_About what?_ A rebellious little voice in her own head piqued up.

_…__Training?_ The response sounded as pathetic in her head as it would probably have sounded if she'd said it out loud.

Then again training was pretty much the only thing she'd ever talked to him about. Sure she got butterflies in her stomach every time he so much as looked her way but, when she thought about it, the only thing she really knew about him was that he was strong, comparatively speaking, and kind of a rascal. She wanted to know more, she knew that much for sure, she found him interesting. He was...fun, and easy to interact with. Although he'd seemed a bit scary to her at first she'd learned from first hand experience that of Ala Alba he was one of the less frightening members. She wanted to know if he found her as fun to be with as she found him. But mostly she just wanted to know why she liked him.

_He looks hot grown up. _

True enough but, equally true, was that she'd already liked hanging out with him long before she saw his aged up form. In fact it hadn't really made that much of a difference to her. She certainly didn't think the way she felt about him had changed just because he looked a bit different. That wasn't to say, however, that she didn't appreciate the change in…certain ways but, more importantly, that she certainly didn't feel a purely physical attraction to him. Had she simply ogled his adult form then she wouldn't have this conundrum. She could easily dismiss it as just lust. Instead she now found herself what exactly the nature of their relationship was, from both of their perspectives. This was a chance, her chance, to interact with him normally for a change. To get to know him better, she couldn't just let it slip by, if anything she had a responsibility to confirm exactly what it was she felt for him.

"Anyway I'd hate ta bore ya anymore, or distract yah from staring at nothin," he sniggered a bit as he said that, "So I'll just get goin so long. Cheers-"

"K-Kotaro-kun," once again her mouth worked before her brain had time to tell it too; something of a systemic problem for her really.

He turned to look at her with a questioning expression.

"Yeah?"

_Yeah mouth? Anything else you'd like to say?_

Her throat suddenly felt dry.

_Come on! You can do this. Just say something. _

With a deep breath, and clenched toes, she was able to work out a few words past the lump in her throat, her stomach now twisting itself into knots. She was no stranger to physical exertion and, for her age at least, she was in incredible shape, but still she found her current predicament strangely challenging. Still she wasn't about to stop right now.

"Want to get some ice-cream with me?" She winced even as she asked the question, imagining a rejection, as she prepared to try to wave the question aside in case he-

"Sure," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

The prompt response, given as if no thought was necessary, bowled her over. All that tension, nervousness and he just said 'okay' as if it was nothing? Talk about anti-climactic. Still, on the other hand, her thoughts reminded her;

_Would it have been better if he'd said no? Perhaps I'm overthinking things here._

"Ah," a crestfallen look suddenly engulfed his features. She felt her own prospects drop as quickly as his mood changed.

_I should have known there'd be a problem. Knew it._

"If yah remember I said I don't have any cash," his whole demeanour grew bashful, clearly he'd been looking forward to that ice cream, as he rubbed the back of his head nervously with one hand.

"That's fine, I'll pay for you Kotaro-kun, seriously that's no problem at all," she said, giving an inaudible sigh of relief, as she waved her hand dismissively. Certainly a little thing like that wouldn't get in her way.

He seemed to treat it a little more seriously however.

"What? You pay for me? No way!" He stomped his foot down adamantly to make his point; which, considering he was ten-years old, was kind of cute.

"Why not? I got enough money?" She brought out her purse to inspect it anyway, making sure she could back up her claim, a look of genuine confusion on her face.

"That's not the point…yer a, a, a girl. I can't ask a girl to buy stuff for me," Kotaro looked at her incredulously, as if she'd just made the most obvious mistake in history.

"What? Why not?" Sakura giggled a bit as she asked, finding it difficult to take the boy seriously as he got more and more worked up about the issue, his cheeks beginning to turn a bit crimson. This reversal of their usual positions, him awkward and her calm, was a novelty and it was actually quite charming to see that he could get embarrassed too.

"Because…because," he answered in classic ten-year old fashion.

"You'd let Chizu-nee buy for you wouldn't you," it was a shot in the dark but, judging by the look of embarrassment on his face, it had been right on the mark.

"Th-that's totally different, totally different." He huffed, arms now folded moodily.

"How am I different to her?"

"Do yah really want me to explain that?"

She actually felt a bit offended by that comment.

"Look whether you want me to or not I'm going to buy two ice-creams and, if someone isn't there to help me finish them, it'll be a huge waste and then we'll both be sorry, right?. So you can either let me buy you one, or you could let me waste my money on you for no good reason," she delivered her ultimatum with all the surety of a slightly older child talking to a toddler. To be fair she'd had a fair but of practice at these kind of ultimatums, although generally she'd been on the receiving end of them. But that wasn't pertinent to this conversation.

"F-fine, b-but only if yah let me pay you back when I got the money to do it," Kotaro asserted, trying to salvage a bit of pride in the face of the older girl's ruthless demands. His machismo, clearly deflated, had lost the battle against his stomach convincingly and he was now paying the price for this in blushes.

"Ooh. You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can accept that," she smiled again, offering a hand to shake.

Kotaro, still seemingly taking the whole matter to seriously, clenched her hand in his own and shook it with a confidence marred only by his inability to make eye contact.

"Okay, I guess, let's go then," with the discussion over all his unease seemed to evaporate into excitement as he suddenly rushed ahead, insisting he knew where to go. Before she knew why she found herself running alongside him with a grin.

* * *

"Yes, thank you, and he'll have…" Mei turned to look at Kotaro, indicating it was his turn to speak. "Gimme chocolate," the boy eagerly said, rocking back and forth beside her on his heels, earning a polite smile from the vendor before he added, as an afterthought; "Please."

"What a cute little brother you have," the woman said politely as she accepted Mei's money and handed over the frozen treats. Kotaro began salivating at the sight of the ice-cream in Mei's hand and made a clumsy attempt to grasp it from her but she kept them out of reach.

"Oh no, no he's not my-"She began but, considering how pointlessly complicated it might make things, she just decided to nod halfway through and agree. _He is kind of cute…for a little brother_.

Once Mei had both ice-creams in hand she began to calmly make her way towards an open bench, Kotaro buzzing around her energetically as she took her time, somewhere a bit away from the loud noises of the Festival.

"Come on, come on nee-chan, gimme, gimme I'm starvin' here,"

"You won't die if you just wait a minute more," she repeated; yet another cliché she'd often been told herself.

The boy rolled his eyes but stopped complaining, content now to walk alongside her in impatience. She got the feeling he'd been on the receiving end of that cliché relatively frequently himself.

A short walk later they found a comparatively quiet spot, with no stalls or vendors nearby, to sit down and enjoy their treats. It was in a small scenic park area, but one too small to host any major attractions, and so was largely being neglected. Every here and there were the odd grown-ups trying to catch a break as their small children buzzed about them, or couples also looking for a little peace and quiet.

The sight of the couples quickly brought her attention back to the greedy boy now sitting beside her.

"Here you go," she offered Kotaro his ice-cream and the boy quickly snatched it up and began wolfing it down, dropping the wrapper to the floor with nary a care, as he set to work devouring its contents.

"Slow down Kotaro-kun, savour the flavour," Mei chided, reflexively, as she picked up the piece of littler and scrounged it into a clump with her own. Kotaro looked at her confused, as if not certain what she meant.

_Honestly it's like he's never been taught how to eat decently. I mean I know he's part dog or something but that doesn't mean he has to eat like one. _

"Umm…sorry?" He said, cautiously, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

Mei blinked, surprised by the rapid change, and taken aback by how compliant he had just been. She'd meant the comment as just a simple little platitude, the type her older sibling often doled out to her. She'd hardly expected him to react it.

"Um, do-"she began but was cut off when Kotaro kept talking;

"This is part of them 'manners' ain't it? Chizu-nee's been kinda teachin' me some. I guess its good practice to try it now, huh?" Longing eyes gazed at the still mostly intact ice-cream; clearly he'd been hoping to have already finished it by now. Not for the first time Mei couldn't help but scowl a bit at the mention of this Chizu-nee. Clearly her and Kotaro were very close. Perhaps too close.

"So, er, what's the right way ta eat ice-cream?" The big round eyes now focused so intently on her only made Mei feel even more nervous.

"Er…Kotaro-kun, I think you're overthinking it. It's not that there's a…right or wrong way to eat ice-cream it's just that, well, you should take a little longer with your food, enjoy it, you know? Something like that…right?"

_Okay, come on, there's no way this could be weird to him, I mean it's just normal stuff. _

To her relief something resembling understanding was now flickering across Kotaro's face, mixed in with some confusion, as he began to tentatively lick at the frozen treat in a gentle way. His tongue slowly tracing across…

Mei pointedly looked away, hiding her face from him, as she tried to dislodge the sensual thoughts now residing within. She'd wait till he was finished before continuing again. Her attention now off the boy she remembered that she had her own ice cream to finish. Still pondering what exactly the boy next to her was thinking she started to lick at her own ice-cream. She knew that Kotaro and herself were not that apart in years, not as far as his friends in Ala Alba for example, and she was also aware of the fact that both of them could claim to have an intelligence far beyond that of someone their own age. In many ways, perhaps, she thought that was why the two should be able to get along. She, personally, had always felt a little frustrated by her maturity relative to her peer group. For this reason she'd never really had many companions beyond those she made with fellow magic users. Surely Kotaro also felt the same?

Looking at him now, however, and the way he was trying to resist snapping up his ice-cream in a single bite, she realized that he probably didn't have the same problem as her.

"Is this the right way nee-chan?" Chocolate had been smudged all around the kid's lips in his fumbling attempts, his ice-cream was only about half done, as he turned to Mei with a kind of glowing look.

_Seriously? It's just food, why is he being so weird about this. Wait a minute… _

With a look of understanding dawning on her face Mei decided to probe a bit deeper with her questions;

"Kotaro-kun who exactly feeds you?"

"Chizu-nee does it these days mostly, although sometimes the other two try," Kotaro looked from side to side suspiciously before he craned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper;

"Don't tell them this but they really ain't got nothin on Chizu-nee," Mei couldn't help but giggle at the seriousness with which he behaved over what, to her, was such a trivial matter. The wary look he gave her as she giggled, clearly not feeling similarly amused, only made it harder to stop. Still this hadn't been what she was interested in. She'd have to rephrase her query;

"Okay, okay, I won't tell anyone. But, Kotaro-kun, you only came here recently right? Who fed you before that? Who taught you how to eat?"

"Before? Oh…uh, me I guess, I mean that's what I think…I mean it kind of has to be me doesn't it? Who else would have?" he gesticulated vaguely as he spoke, an air of bored indifference around him, in between licking his ice-cream.

If he caught the furrowing of Mei's brow he gave no such indication. Judging from his answer she could already guess the situation. It actually made a lot of sense. It fit nicely into what she already knew about him as well. Growing up a wild child the enjoyment of food probably took a back seat to the actual eating, or acquisition, thereof. It helped explained why he was such a messy eater, and not just because most ten-year old boys tended to be, and why he tried to gorge most of his meals down as fast as he could.

"What are ya doin?"

Once again Mei found herself snapped back to reality by the sound of Kotaro's voice. Her attention was now drawn to the fact that she was patting the boy sympathetically on the head. She hadn't meant too, or at least she didn't think that she'd meant too, but it had just kind of seemed like the right thing to do.

"I…ah…I…so sorry," she blabbered incoherently as she retreated away from him, scooting up further along the bench, her stomach clenching again as blood pumped loud enough for her to hear.

_Oh come on! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What am I doing?_

She couldn't help it. After something like that how could she? The rapid beating of heart once again brought feelings of giddiness and self-consciousness to the fore as she started pointlessly brushing strands of hair out of her face.

_This is it. Why doesn't he get like this when I do? It isn't fair. _

Kotaro continued to look at her with a perplexed expression whilst she, on the other hand, made sure to keep her hands in her lap and her eyes rooted to them.

The two sat in a sort of a semi-silence for a while, munching away, whilst occasionally Kotaro would make some sort of quip and she'd respond with a nod or polite smile. It wasn't wholly uncomfortable really, in fact, she had to admit, it was kind of nice. She didn't know many people who she could just sit with, in silence, and not feel totally awkward.

Truth be told it was a little awkward but, weirdly, it was a good kind of awkward.

_But this isn't what I wanted. I got to say something, talk to him. I like doing this, it's…fun. So I got to say something. I want to be friends with him, I know that, but I also...I also want to be something different. I don't want him to see me as just another one of those girls he interacts with but, heaven's forbid, I don't want him to think I'm a guy._

For the longest time she'd struggled with what she wanted his opinion of her to be. There was no doubt to her, and no point denying it, that since there match in the Tournament she'd felt a desire to be held high in his opinion. This was why, mostly, she'd rarely spoken to him about anything other than training. It seemed an obvious way to bond, and to show him her determination, but at the same time it seemed to be a type of ditch. One she didn't want to get stuck in.

She opened her mouth to speak when, once again, she was interrupted. Clearly Chizu-nee had not done that good a job teaching him manners.

"Thanks for the treat, I really appreciate it. Like I said though I'll get you my share of the price as soon as possible, so don't go forgettin' about it, right?" He got up, clearly ready to go. She herself made a rushed movement to stall him, pausing halfway through the motion, as she tried to quickly think of a way to keep him with her. This wasn't enough.

"Kotaro-kun wait," she blurted out.

The boy turned around to regard her, an eyebrow raised, as he stood up on the bench. When he saw her face a look of some concern crossed over as he chose to sit back down, crossing his feet, and inspecting her face a little more closely than was probably required.

"Nee-chan…are you sure yer feelin alright?" Uncertainty and concern were mixed in equal portions in his voice.

Mei took a big gulp of air and lifted her face, looking at the boy straight on. If ever she needed magic, a spell, to just solve her problems for her it was now. But no spell, no matter how hard she thought, could help her here. In the end magic wouldn't suffice. Instead it would take a little bit of...

"Would you…kindly…"

Kotaro's brow furrowed as the words came out steadily.

Mei clasped her hands tight in her own lap for support, pooling her courage.

"Go on a…date with me?"

From there things rapidly spiralled downwards.

"Wh-wh-what! What are you saying? Y-you're ki-kiddin' me right?" Blushing madly Kotaro stammered over his words as his eyes grew as large as saucers and he backed away at an alarming rate, hands waving wildly at his sides.

Mei's own face was, of course, blazing as she tried to get a word in between his nervous chattering.

"W-wait, not, not l-like that, I d-didn't mean it l-like that," it sounded like a lame excuse even to her and, clearly, it didn't even register to Kotaro who merely kept protesting his disbelief.

_What did I mean then?_

"Nee-chan, y-yer kiddn' right? Right? That's what it is ain't it? This is like a joke, right? More jokes, r-right? I mean if yer serious then...then...uh?"

Part of her felt insulted by that, it was actually quite painful, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. Not if she wanted to salvage whatever she still could from the day.

_But what do I want to salvage? What do I want? I like him don't I? But he's my friend. He's only ten , I'm only a bit older, surely this isn't love I'm feeling? This is just a crush. _

Indecision paralyzed her even as Kotaro seemed to settle down a bit, his face still blushing furiously, but his expression now softening into one of anxiety rather than shock. In fact, if Mei had had the time to look more closely, she might even have thought that he looked a bit…uncertain.

_Argh, I don't have time to waste on this! Just say something. Mouth don't fail me now!_

The small pool of her courage finally failed her. She'd been uncharacteristically forward with him the whole day so far and now, confronted with this situation, she finally couldn't take it anymore and simply blurted out the first convenient lie she could conjure.

"As practice! I want to ask you out on a date as practice for when I ask out this, uh, guy I got a crush on in my class," She breathed heavily, the words seemingly taking a physical toll on her, as she pointedly looked away from Kotaro hoping he couldn't tell how obvious her lie was.

_A 'guy' in my class?_ She was in an all-girls classroom so how could that even be possible?

_Stupid, that's so stupid, there's no way he'd be dumb enough to buy something like that-_

"Well why didn't ya say so! Heck, that makes a lot more sense,"

_Apparently I shouldn't underestimate his stupidity. _

"Gee," Kotaro sighed, slumping back down onto the bench next to her; his shoulders slouched, as the red gradually drained from his face. Judging by his breathing the words seemed to have taken a physical toll on him as well.

"S-sorry, I guess I should have lead with that, huh?" She felt incredibly small all of sudden, similar to how she'd felt the first time he'd beaten her. It felt like she was drenched in cold water all over again. She hated water.

"Ya think?" He spat it quite quickly and, clearly, regretted the vehemence with which he said it the moment it left his mouth.

"I mean, no offense, but ya got ta be more careful how ya talk ta people nee-chan, they might just get the wrong…" his words trailed off as he just gave a resigned sort of shrug.

"Ya know?" It sounded like there were two questions in there.

_No, not really, what were you getting at? _

"Yeah, I totally understand," she said politely and properly. It was far easier that way.

A silence lingered between the two giving each one time to stop blushing, before Mei stood up abruptly.

_No need to waste any more time here then I already have. _

For some reason she really just didn't want to be in public right now. She wanted to be somewhere alone, somewhere she could try to figure out what it was that was troubling her so much. Even though, she supposed, her question had been a spontaneous impulse she couldn't help but feel like there was something twisting inside her heart right now.

_I hate festivals. They always end badly for me. _

"Thank you very much for your time Kotaro-kun, it was really fun, but I better get going then," she gave a neat bow, keeping her smile friendly but not too friendly, as she prepared to go back to her dormitory and hide in it till the festival had blown over.

"Hold on, where do ya think yer goin'?"

The question, as well as the smirk it was said with, caught her off guard and she hesitated to answer, giving the speaker time to ramble on some more.

"I ain't not gonna help, nee-chan. You just did me a solid so; it's only fair, that I do you one, eh. If ya need ta practice asking this guy out then…I guess, I can, help," the longer he talked the more awkward he became; beginning with a brash smile and ending with an abashed look and a small blush tinging his cheeks again. It was remarkably cute.

"Y-you…want to help, me?"

Mei noticed the difference the moment he looked at her. The confidence was gone or, at least, overwhelmed by hesitance. It was not an expression she'd often seen on him. He looked vulnerable, and not in a combat sense, to her. It was such an un-Kotaro like expression that she'd almost forgotten she'd seen it once before. After he'd rescued her from the water he'd had a similar uncertain expression, as if he didn't know what exactly the proper thing to do next was.

"Y-yeah, why, that's not weird is it?" His voice sounded urgent. Mei smiled.

"Well, you know, it is kind of weird," her voice was teasing but, it seemed, he couldn't tell and his face instantly got redder. Her smile grew larger.

"But since, according to you, I'm also weird…" she looked at him with a playful twinkle in her eyes. _Amazing how fast things can change._

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you are too," she stuck her tongue out teasingly as she finished enjoying the relief that clearly washed all over him.

"Well just don't forget I'm only helpin' ya cause you helped me first, kay? I mean that's what pals do fer each other, they help each other out when their ain't nobody else who can," He emphasised the importance of this by trying to scowl intimidatingly. It didn't work very well.

"Okay," she responded, feeling lighter on her feet.

"And if I help ya do this then I ain't got ta pay you back, kay?" He quickly added, apparently still preoccupied with that fact.

"Sure," she responded, beaming a little. This clearly made Kotaro feel uncomfortable and he stopped trying to look intimidating. Instead he settled for placing both hands into his pockets and looking off at a rock in the distance.

"So…how do we do this?"

Mei paused, blinking slowly as she stopped beaming.

"Er…?"

_What do you do on a date?_

* * *

Some fun, yet largely pointless fluff. I noticed this fandom lacks enough of this adorable coupling and so decided to do my own platonic ode to it. It was very fun to write but, sadly, my editor didn't get to look at it so I can't vouch for its quality. To be fair its actually just an exercise in indulgence since I love these two together but have not aspirations for the fic. This constitutes about a 1/3rd of what I'd type for the 'Date' but the rest of it got a bit long and rambling to me. Maybe I'll upload them as additional chapters later, for fun. But for all intents and purposes I consider this more of a one-shot and complete.

To be clear about the setting; it takes place towards the unsatisfying end of the manga. In particular during that pointless and egregiously stupid final festival arc which I won't dwell on because, y'know, d'know.

Anyway whilst the crazy hijinks were going on I though it made a fine opportuinity, since neither of these characters were involved in them, to have a nice meeting between them.

Anyway please feel free to drop a review, always, I love talking to people about pretty much anything and am interested to hear your opinions on my work. Thanks for your time and remember to hide.


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